(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After the recovery in 2016, shrimp exports of Vietnam started 2017 with the downward momentum. Export value in Jan 2017 reached US$198.7 million; down 12.6% over the same period in 2016. In Feb 2017, export value increased 18.7% compared with February 2016. Despite the increase in February, the total shrimp export value in the first two months of this year reached nearly US$378 million; slightly decreasing by 0.1% over the same period in 2016.

Shrimp exports decreased in the context of technical barriers from importing markets increased, demand for shrimps in the world market decreased due to high inventory. Besides, the supply of raw shrimp was limited, the price of raw shrimp increased, causing factories to lack raw materials for production.

Compared to Feb 2016, the proportion of white shrimp for exports increased (accounting for 63% of total shrimp exports) while the proportion of black tiger shrimp exports decreased (28%), the proportion of marine shrimp increased (9%). Frozen/live/frozen white shrimp (HS 03) reached the highest value of US$129.3 million; Processed white shrimp (HS 16) ranked the second with US$109.1 million USD.

Top 10 main markets included Japan, the EU, the US, China, South Korea, Canada, Australia, ASEAN, Taiwan and Switzerland, accounting for 95.4% of Vietnam shrimp exports.

In February 2017, Vietnam shrimp export value to the US and China decreased by 25% and 8.6%, respectively. In contrast, Japan, the EU, Korea and Canada were prominent markets with good growth. In particular, exports to Japan grew at best 33.6%, South Korea (+ 18.8%); EU (+ 16,2%); Canada (+ 16,6%).

In the first two months of 2017, Japan rose to the top position on shrimp import of Vietnam, accounting for 21.4%. EU ranked second with 19.5%. The US dropped to the third position, accounting for only 18.6% of total shrimp exports of Vietnam.

EU and Japan

In the first two months of 2017, the EU and Japan were two markets showing positive signs of recovery in shrimp imports from Vietnam.

Shrimp exports to Japan began to recover from August 2016 and continued to grow until February this year. If in 2016, shrimp exports to Japan increased only 2.7%, in the first two months of this year, the growth rate reached 33.6% (the highest growth rate in the top shrimp importing markets of Vietnam) with an export value of US$81 million.

Thanks to the competitive export price and agricultural cooperation programs promoting between Vietnam and Japan, exporting shrimp to this market will continue to increase.

In 2016, after slump in the first half of the year, shrimp exports to the EU maintained growth in all months of the second half of the year. Remaining the growth of 2016, exporting shrimp to this market in the first two months of this year increased 16.2% to US$73.7 million.

In the three largest single markets in the block, exports to the UK and the Netherlands grew by 4.3% and 127.1%, respectively, while exports to Germany decreased by 11.5%.

Although not sharply increased, exporting shrimp to the EU in the coming months is forecasted to increase more than 10%.

The US

In 2016, shrimp exports to the US grew well in the first three quarters. Exports have tended to fall in the last quarter of 2016. In the first two months of 2017, shrimp exports to this market reached US$70.4 million; a decrease of 25% compared to the same period of 2016.

After the decline at the beginning of the year, demand for shrimps from the markets will inch up. With the growth momentum of imports from Japan, EU, Korea; Vietnam shrimp exports in March 2017 is expected to slightly increase over the same period in 2016.